Japanese Ofuro, Custom Built.

The Japanese word, ofuro, means "a tub."

Our Ofuro are simple, plain rectangles following the great tradition of Sukiya architecture which celebrates highly refined simplicity. Our Ofuro are mounted on a pair of wooden bearers running crossways close to each end of the tub. This relieves the appearance of great weight, allowing the rectangular tub to seem to float. The ends of the bearers are slightly inset from the sides of the tub for this reason and also to avoid stubbed toes. Every element of the design serves a purpose and there is no decoration except the beauty and innate complexity of the wood itself.

Here our products differ from many if not most Ofuro produced elsewhere. We insist on sealing every surface of the wood including those you cannot see. That means in turn that we only use solid Hardwoods such as Maple, Teak or Mahogany which are dimensionally stable. Woods like Japanese Cypress (Hinoki) or American Cedar are very fragrant but not stable. They constantly expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. They need to be kept moist or they leak and acquire black staining quite quickly in use.

Since the delight of our Ofuro lies in the beauty of the woods we use and the pattern of bathing habits is anyway quite different in the west, we believe our customers appreciate and prefer the lasting beauty combined with the hygiene, toughness and very low maintenance of our DeepSeal Finish.